Erich Raeder was born April 24 1876 in Wansbek Germany. He grew up with a very religious family and they attended church often. His father wanted him to be a medical surgeon for the military, yet he told his father he had decided to be a navy line officer. He became a naval commander around 1928. He was one of Doenitz superior officers and was charged with the first three criminal counts. His most superior charges were his involvement in sinking ships with German U-boats. He was charge d life in prison but because of fading health he was let out after 9 years in 1955. Raeder then died in 1960 at the age of 84. Reporter: Do you think it is necessary for you to spend life in prison? Erich Raeder: No I do not think it is right for many reasons. The first reason and the most major one is I may have helped plan war but what about the Americans who helped plan war shouldn’t they be imprisoned as I am? I also got charged for sinking other countries ships without warning. That is ridiculous because the other countries were our there doing it the same things with me. My question is why would they charge us for what we did I mean they dropped bombs all over our cities and killed people just like we did. Reporter: Why did you join the military? Erich: I wanted the pride of being able to say that I served for my country when someone asks me what I did that was important. Reporter: How highly ranked were you? Erich: I was one of Doenitz’s superior officers. Reporter: Do you feel sorry for what you did? Erich: No I am not sorry because I was fighting for my country. Yet after the fact I am not positive we were doing all the right things but it is what it is, it’s too late to look back now the past is the past. Reporter: What kind of sentence you rather of had? Erich Raeder: I can’t even think about spending the rest of my life in there. I don’t know if it’s worse than being shot or not though. I just hope the Americans realize that the Nuremberg trials are a joke and I get out of here early. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/NurembergChronology.html http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/meetthedefendants.html http://frank.mtsu.edu/~baustin/trials3.html http://books.google.com/books?id=-r2WGVbgfigC&printsec=frontcover&dq=erich+raeder&source=bl&ots=yFSvJKnN6Q&sig=ZY04PhLoD-OiwCmUKHU9z6N_Eho&hl=en&ei=LDvbS4z_EqKSMsnz4YIB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CC0Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Erich Raeder was born April 24 1876 in Wansbek Germany. He grew up with a very religious family and they attended church often. His father wanted him to be a medical surgeon for the military, yet he told his father he had decided to be a navy line officer. He became a naval commander around 1928. He was one of Doenitz superior officers and was charged with the first three criminal counts. His most superior charges were his involvement in sinking ships with German U-boats. He was charge d life in prison but because of fading health he was let out after 9 years in 1955. Raeder then died in 1960 at the age of 84.
Reporter: Do you think it is necessary for you to spend life in prison?
Erich Raeder: No I do not think it is right for many reasons. The first reason and the most major one is I may have helped plan war but what about the Americans who helped plan war shouldn’t they be imprisoned as I am? I also got charged for sinking other countries ships without warning. That is ridiculous because the other countries were our there doing it the same things with me. My question is why would they charge us for what we did I mean they dropped bombs all over our cities and killed people just like we did.
Reporter: Why did you join the military?
Erich: I wanted the pride of being able to say that I served for my country when someone asks me what I did that was important.
Reporter: How highly ranked were you?
Erich: I was one of Doenitz’s superior officers.
Reporter: Do you feel sorry for what you did?
Erich: No I am not sorry because I was fighting for my country. Yet after the fact I am not positive we were doing all the right things but it is what it is, it’s too late to look back now the past is the past.
Reporter: What kind of sentence you rather of had?
Erich Raeder: I can’t even think about spending the rest of my life in there. I don’t know if it’s worse than being shot or not though. I just hope the Americans realize that the Nuremberg trials are a joke and I get out of here early.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/NurembergChronology.html
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/meetthedefendants.html
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~baustin/trials3.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=-r2WGVbgfigC&printsec=frontcover&dq=erich+raeder&source=bl&ots=yFSvJKnN6Q&sig=ZY04PhLoD-OiwCmUKHU9z6N_Eho&hl=en&ei=LDvbS4z_EqKSMsnz4YIB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CC0Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false